Shinji and Misato were out shopping. Misato insisted on buying Shinji some new clothes. He didn't think he would wear them, but he let Misato get them anyway. He quickly realized it was a battle he couldn't win, Eva or not.

They walked home, idly talking, Misato noticed something.

"You're smiling," she said.

"Huh?" Shinji said.

"That's the first time I've ever seen you smile," She said. "You're pretty cute when you smile," she added, elbowing him lightly.

"Stop teasing me, oka-"

The two of them saw Rei walking by. She saw them and stopped.

"Captain Katsuragi," she said politely.

"Just 'Misato' is fine," she said smiling.

Rei turned to Shinji.

"So you didn't quit." she half asked, half stated.

"Um, I…" Shinji began

"I could have piloted Unit-01 perfectly well," she said, before walking off.

"..."

"Do you think she's mad at me?" Shinji asked.

"Nah, she's just like that with everyone," Misato said. Nobody's ever seen her smile."

-

"Maya, can you bring a few coffees?" Ritsuko asked.

"Sure thing, Sempai," Maya replied.

Ritsuko was busy analyzing the data from the remnants of the fourth Angel. The core was mostly intact, and they could now try to figure out what exactly these things were made of. The answer was surprising.

The computer flashed, before displaying the code "601"

"What's that?" Misato asked.

"The code that indicates analysis failure," Ritsuko responded.

"In other words, you have no idea?" she said

"Yes," Ritsuko sighed. "Angels are comprised of matter that displays the properties of waves and particles, like light." she took a swig of her coffee.

"But it did have a power source, right?" Misato asked, leaning over her shoulder.

"Something resembling one, yes," Ritsuko answered, "but we can't begin to understand how it operates."

"The realm of the unknown just keeps expanding, huh?" Misato said.

"The world is full of mysteries. For example, look at this Angel's wave pattern fingerprint."

Shinji and Misato both leaned in to see the monitor.

"Is this…" Misato started.

"Yes. Despite the difference in component elements, the signal sequencing and locations are very similar to human DNA. There's a 99.89% match," Ritsuko explained.

Shinji noticed his father walking in the hallway outside. He ignored the rest of the conversation and went to look. He peeked around the edge and saw his father examining the core. His gloves were off, and he was running his hands over the glassy exterior of the Angel's core. His father set his hands behind his back, and Shinji did a double-take. His palms were gray and appeared to be badly burned.

"What is it?" Misato asked.

Shinji swung around.

"Um, nothing," he said, looking down.

"Look, when you say 'nothing' with a look on your face like that, you're practically screaming 'Pay attention to me! Worry about me!'" Misato said.

"Um… it looked like there were burns on my father's hands. I was wondering how he got them," Shinji said.

"Burns? Do you know anything about that?" Misato asked Ritsuko.

"Before you arrived, Unit-00 went beserk during an activation test. The pilot was trapped inside," Ritsuko said.

"The pilot? You mean Ayanami, right?" Shinji said.

"Commander Ikari got her out. He muscled the hatch open while it was still burning hot. The marks on his hands are from that," she said.

"He did that?" Shinji asked. Ritsuko nodded.

'He would never do that for me, I bet,' Shinji thought bitterly.

Ritsuko was thinking the exact same thing.

-

"I'm trying to say that I owe you one, Ikari. You saved us back there, and you didn't have to. I'm sorry I was such a jerk to ya," Toji said.

"Yeah," Kensuke chimed in, "we really misjudged you. I had no idea it would be that bad."

"It's okay," Shinji said.

"But man, you get to pilot that thing and live with a total babe! I'm still jealous," Kensuke said. Toji nodded.

The bell rang, and they headed back for class. Rei stood by the school window, watching the scene play out absently.

-

Shinji sat on the grass with his two new friends during gym class. A few other boys were near him, and they were all too busy ogling the girls in the pool to talk. Shinji looked over to the basketball court and saw the boys playing. He looked over to the pool and saw Ayanami there. She was sitting in the corner alone, her legs pulled to her chest. She was staring at the ground, uninterested in what was going on. 'Why is she always alone?' Shinji wondered. 'And she never seems to react to anything.'

"-at are you looking at, big guy?" Toji said mockingly. Shinji wasn't paying attention.

"I never took the ace over here for a poivoit," he said. Shinji was still lost in thought.

"Who're you lookin' at? Ayanami, maybe? You sure like the sullen one-" Toji was cut off by Shinji putting his fingers in his nose, making all the girls at the pool laugh.

"Look at Suzahara's face!"

"I didn't think Ikari had it in him!"

Shinji looked at Rei. She looked over to see the commotion, and she didn't react at all. She just looked back to the ground.

"What the hell was that for?!" Toji yelled.

"I knew it, she didn't laugh," Shinji mumbled.

"Ikari! I'm talkin' to you!" Toji continued.

"Let's call us even, then," Shinji said.

The bell rang and they returned to class.

-

Rei headed to Ritsuko's office, having to go for one last check-up before her reactivation test tomorrow. She walked calmly through the sterile hallways of NERV Headquarters, finding Ritsuko's room and entering.

"Oh, right," Ritsuko said. She stood up from her chair and put out her cigarette.

"You know the drill," she said, picking up her clipboard. Rei began to strip and lay down on the cold metal table.

Ritsuko ran through her routine of taking blood, administering medicine, and asking questions, all done as mercilessly as possible. When she was done, she sent Rei on her way home.

Ritsuko sat at her desk, sighing. She pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking a long drag. She was almost done for the day, and she would be heading to Misato's for dinner later. Clearing her desk, she realized she had forgotten to give Rei her new security card.

"Shit," she mumbled.

Ritsuko didn't want to be in the presence of that freak any more than possible, so she would pawn it off to Shinji. Judging by Misato's observations, he already had the hots for her anway. She shuddered, thinking about the implications.

-

Rei Ayanami awoke the next morning, her headache killing her. She sat up and looked at her injuries in the mirror. She still had significant bruising on her back and arms, but she had her full range of motion back.

Rei downed her daily regimen of pills, and within minutes the pain was already dulled, along with any confusing emotions she woke with. Rei got out of her nightgown and headed for the shower.

The water felt nice, and Rei was able to relax a little bit. Today was her activation, and Commander Ikari had made sure she would be safe. He never made her feel the way Dr. Akagi did. She was planning on taking his glasses with her to the test. They were proof that he cared about her.

Rei stepped out of the shower, draping a towel around her neck after drying off. She walked into the hallway and saw a boy standing there. He turned around and was wearing Commander Ikari's glasses. Rei frowned, and walked up to him, plucking the glasses off of his face. He panicked and ended up falling on top of her.

He stared at her for a while, and Rei was becoming impatient. She needed to get to NERV Headquarters, and the third child was preventing her from doing so.

"Can you move, please?" she asked. The boy yelped and jumped off of her as if burned. He turned around and began to speak.

"Um, I-I didn't k-know you were…"

Rei began to dress, paying little attention to what he was saying.

"What can I do for you?" she asked simply.

"Um, I, uh, Ritsuko said t-to drop off your new card here. I knocked on the door, and nobody answered, so I walked in. I-I didn't know you would be…" he trailed off, too embarrassed to continue.

"Leave the card here, then," she said. The boy put the card on her nightstand and walked out, mumbling "sorry."

Rei finished dressing and held the glasses, putting them into her case. She grabbed the card and walked out of her apartment, not bothering to lock the door.

-

Shinji walked out of her apartment, his heart racing.

'She probably hates me, now,' he thought sadly, sitting on a bench by the train station.

Ayanami walked by shortly after, and she didn't even look at him.

"Ayanami, wait up," Shinji said, following after her.

They both boarded the train to Headquarters. Rei sat down and began to read a book.

'I have to say something,'
Shinji thought. 'At least she can't hate me any more than she probably already does.'

The train arrived at its destination, and both of them got off.

"Um, Ayanami," Shinji said, trying to break the awkward silence, "your reactivation test is today, isn't it?"

She said nothing.

"Aren't you scared?" Shinji asked.

"Of what?"

"About… you know, getting back into your Eva."

"Are you scared of yours?"

"...Yes. I think it's weirder not to be scared."

"Can't you have faith in your father's work?"

"No," Shinji said bitterly. "There's no way I can have faith in a father like him."

Rei stopped and looked at him.

"I do," she said. "I have faith in him. The only thing in the world I have faith in is the commander."

With that, she walked off. Shinji was left standing where he was.

-

"Initiate primary contact," Gendo ordered.

"Operational voltage critical, point cleared!" Maya said.

"Shift format to phase two," Ritsuko ordered, "begin linking pilot to Unit-00"

"Rei," Gendo said. "Are you ready?"

Rei looked down at the glasses hanging from the control yoke.

"Yes, sir," she said.

"Pulse and harmonics normal, synch is green, all nerve links connected," Maya announced.

Shinji sat in the observation booth with Misato.

'The only thing in the world she has faith in is the commander,' Shinji thought.

"1.7, 1.2, 1.0,"

'Why?'

"0.8, 0.6, 0.4,"

'It's weird. Why am I so worried about someone else?'

"0.2, 0.1, borderline cleared!" Maya said, "Unit-00 has been activated."

Fuyutsuki put down the phone in his hand.

"Ikari, an unidentified object is flying this way. It is most likely the fifth Angel."

"Abort the test," Gendo ordered. "Sortie Unit-01 immediately."

Shinji looked over to his father.

"What's the matter?" he said. "Get going!"

'He won't even wish me luck,' Shinji thought and headed to the locker room.

'Even if I can't have faith in my father, all I can do is get in my Eva and fight.'

-

"The target is above lake Ashino," Makoto said, looking at the Angel on the monitor. It was a sky blue octahedron with a strip of yellow lights moving around its center. It gave off no emissions and traveled slowly.

"Eva-01 is ready for takeoff!" Maya announced.

"Eva Unit-01, launch!" Misato ordered.

Shinji was flung upwards through the tunnels.

"Reading high energy levels from within the target!" Aoba yelled.

"It can't be! A particle beam?" Misato said.

Shinji reached the top of the Eva catapult, coming to a stop in the middle of a street directly in front of the Angel. Before he could react, a flash of light blinded him, and a beam of energy shot his Eva in the chest.

Shinji screamed, feeling his chest being burned by the Angel's blast. The Eva's chest plate began to melt, and it was getting dangerously close to exposing the core. Shinji felt the LCL around him begin to heat up, boiling him alive as he screamed in terror.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Shinji-kun!"